Grapefruit and Icecream
by The Inspectre
Summary: Roman Torchwick. A smooth criminal, ninja with a cane, and.. Father! The man himself is taking a rare day off out from Cinder's thumb to schedule a dinner between himself and his little girl since time has allowed it, but some familiar faces are at the wrong place at the right time to mess it up. Or will they? First fanfic, but not first writing. Criticism good and bad welcomed!
1. The Meeting

The streets of Vale, normally somewhat bustling with life like a buzzy hive as the common people went about their daily lives, were quiet tonight. Aside from the occasional car driving down the road. The sidewalks were bare save for a single gentleman (or at least that's what he called himself for others had a veritable list of words that weren't nice to say in proper company) strolling down them. In a rather brisk pace as if he were in a hurry to get somewhere.

Roman Torchwick, the infamous rogue, thief, and crime boss, and not that many would possibly believe it but also single father. ..Given the first three titles that last one would understably be a shock to those that knew him and what kind of person he was.

That last part was also more important as right now he was taking a day off from Cinder's tyranny AKA 'work', to visit his little girl away from prying eyes. The absolute last thing he needed? _Them_ finding out about her existence. Oh he could only imagine the looks on the faces of his associates initially but after the fact.. Yeahno. That was a situation he dreaded having to deal with the fallout of. The pyromancer would be the worst he suspected, teasing him at every turn. The other two he'd find someway to strangle and feed to the Grimm or conveniently lose track of out in Forever Fall after stealing their Scrolls so he didn't have to deal with their crap. Unfortunately they were stronger than they looked and Cinder would somehow, someway, either blame him or find a way to pin him for it. Lucky them for still being useful.

Gods forbid that team of Huntresses/thorns in his side ever found out either. Just his coworkers were enough of an nuisance and the only thing that kept him from beating any of them into unconsciousness with his cane was a nightly shot or two of Goliath brand whiskey. Or the fact that the flaming dominatrix was admittedly faster and deadlier than he so he'd not dare raise a hand to her. For now. Roman also heavily disliked the prospect of going up against the Iaido master Bull Faunus.

He adjusted the dark gray scarf around his neck after he rounded a corner, making sure his bowler was on straight and the feather was still there. His Dust firework launching grapple cane Melodic Cudgel was in hand, not that that was an unusual sight. Much like Thor with his hammer Mjolnir he was rarely seen without it. Thoughts were racing through his mind as he pulled out a small silver bar, his Scroll, before opening it up and examining the holographic screen as it buzzed to life. "It's about that time, should be perfect at this pace.. Barring some kind of divine intervention or-" *mrrow*

He paused, hearing a faint meow as he had been about to trip over a cat crossing the sidewalk towards an alleyway. A.. Black cat. Oh DUST no.

"Do me a small favor and shoo, I have enough troubles with black kitties. Last time I saw one of you I got arrested so context will tell you I'm not exactly your biggest fan."

Of course that had been the plan all along and he'd been busted out soon enough but still. Being cooped up on Ironwood's warship was not a fun memory he'd be recounting to his grandkids. 7.8/10 at best, too much.. Well too little to do besides twiddle his thumbs. He was a go-getter, and preferred to be out there actually doing something. ..Or having expendable henchmen do something while he supervised anyway. Why get his hands dirty personally when he could have someone else do it? That was the whole purpose a boss had minions after all.

After the stubborn feline refused to move he groaned and poked at it with Melodic Cudgel's bottom end. The man could have just shot or kicked it but while he had earned many titles in his line of work, heartless was not one of them. Doing something like that well one would have to be a soulless monster! Or a Grimm. Same thing really but the male very highly doubted that they had the intellectual capacity to use a gun. When that didn't work he finally decided to jump forward a bit, scraping his soles across the pavement. That did the trick, between the sudden motion and sound it skittered away into the dark alley. "Now hopefully I can continue my walk in peace.."

That he did, closing and pocketing his Scroll to move on further down the street and across another block or two. Streets were still oh so silent though he did spot a few faces around. Being the apparently ace pilot that he was he could have drove himself with whatever he felt like but it was good exercise. Bullhead VTOL? Simple enough. Paladin WarMech? Couldn't be too hard. An Atlesian Warship, coincidentally the one he had been previously incarcerated on? Auto AND stick shift. And he made damn sure that those skills got passed on to his daughter among the other ones. Though she surprised him with how well she used them. Not entirely unexpected but still..

Eventually he came to a stop outside what appeared to be a fairly decent diner called The Steakout. Not exactly clever but the man had to admit it was a little punny. That one blonde Huntress would probably have gotten a giggle or two out of the title. One last check, suit fastened properly, gloves and pants smoothed out, everything in place.. With a confident smirk he waltzed into the building practically like he owned it, glancing around at the western style interior.

Mounted deer heads, antler chandeliers, various pictures and newspaper clippings and other American (if it existed in Remnant) buffet house accessories on the walls.. Quaint and homey, and only sparsely populated. After pacing up to the counter and asking the greeter if a certain someone matching his own description (but younger and female) had come in he was directed to a booth at the rear, since he had made a specific reservation for the spot. Cost a fair amount of Lien by average but for him? Pocket change. Having a bit of privacy so they wouldn't be disturbed during their outing? Priceless. For everything else well he had his ways but fortunately for the manager they'd been cooperative from the get-go. Keeping Melodic Cudgel straight to the ground so as to not accidentally whack anyone's legs or trip them Roman made his way towards the back end of the restaurant where someone was sitting by themselves and holding up a menu.

"..Of course I'm on time, wouldn't miss this for the world." He stated with a genuine smile now on his face. Despite not being spoken to the crime lord responded as if he had been, aiming that smile at the person behind the unfolded item before sitting down and sliding into his seat as he placed the cane on the inside against the wall. "Though you're rather early. Decided on anything sweetheart?" "..." The female opposite him finally revealed herself, lowering the menu to look at him with a small smile before nodding. Certainly a matching description..

The supposed child of his was dressed in a pink blazer buttoned only in the center over a white undershirt along with a pair of dark brown pants and pink heels. Her lightly freckled face was highlighted by a pair of hazel brown eyes, one of which was covered by shoulder-blade length orange hair that hung over the right side in the front like his and was pulled away from the left into a ponytail. Pink eyeshadow lightly surrounded the visible eye as it locked onto Roman's. It was easy to tell the two were related though whereas he was a rather tall figure she was.. Very not so. Maybe 5 feet at best, including the heels. She was around 18 at least but appearance made it rather confusing.

"..?"

"Oh it's nothing, just ran across an unlucky omen on the way here."

"?"

"A black cat."

"!?"

"No, not her. An actual cat."

It would appear strange to outsiders who weren't familiar, the girl across from him not speaking so much as a single word simply using body language and gestures to get her point across. The empathic bond they shared along with her gift however meant that words would honestly be entirely unnecessary.

"Hmm.. Now what do I want.. I can already tell you've got your eye on- Don't give me that look, we both know I'm right." She frowned, not looking very amused but not sincerely annoyed either as she folded her menu and set it down while Roman opened his.

"So, how's school going? They treating you alright over there? She's not being too much of a nag is she? I don't have to do this job you know."

".."

"Good. Just make sure you stay out of trouble. Now let's see here.. Fine selection but I'd rather not get anything too messy. Put on my best suit, even had it cleaned yesterday.."

"..."

"Now see here-"

This went on for a good while, the man tapping his gloved fingers on the table with one hand while he also waited for a waiter or waitress. Shouldn't they at least have come to check by now? Even if just to bring an appetizer and see what drinks they wanted. If he had to wait much longer words would be had with the manager. After all it was rare that the two of them got mutual time away from both work and school to meet like this, outside of going home after the aforementioned functions or when circumstances brought them together at either so he wanted the occasion to be perfect. Plus he had given them advance warning of both when they were going to arrive and a good half hour before he even got there himself. Finally to his relief he heard the rapid clacking of heels upon the floor of the restaurant coming their way and looked over at his daughter with a smile. About time..

"..."

"I'll place it for you, unless they know sign language."

"..?"

 _"Don't even."_

The man simply continued to face forward, tapping away right until he saw a figure come into view out the corner of his eye that was loudly mumbling something about 'lady stilts'. A rather nice figure he thought if a little bit on the short side. Slender lightly complexioned legs in fishnet stockings and black heels that lead up to an almost daringly short and frilled black skirt, part of the one-piece black dress that had white lace and frills on the half apron as well and was tied at the back with a large ribbon. A thick stripe of white went up the center with black buttons standing out a bit, her frill guarded cleavage not as revealed compared to her skirt.

Which he almost got a face full of as she promptly and awkwardly tripped over him into the booth before his eyes could travel higher, right as she attempted to stop and turn to face them. Apparently this woman had been in a bit of rush to try and get their order and honestly he wasn't about to fault her for trying to be punctual. And it was clear from the lack of rhythm in her pace and that earlier comment that she wasn't used to her footwear.

..Actually on second thought he hadn't even gotten a look at her face yet. How old was this woman? Over his daughter's snickering the man moved one of his arms to help her sit up and brace herself with her own against the table. Having such a cutie on his lap like Santa at the mall, even if accidentally, was always a pleasure. Right up until his shadowed green eyes met her pair of bright and charming silver ones, both pairs widening in surprise before their owners realized which the other belonged to.

...Cue awkward, tense silence right before-

"You!"

"Well hello there Red! Again! Thanks for dropping by, what brings you here?"

...Dust dammit. Cue internal screaming.


	2. Busted?

_*rubs the back of his head sheepishly, not exactly sure how to start but here goes?*_

 _Hey guys, Spectre here. Or Spec, or Inspectre. Whichever you wanna call me. The first two date way back from my username on an RP site I've been going to for years now called ReignofBlood. Some of you might know me, I change names/RP characters often but my ID is 121609. Anyway.._

 _This isn't my first rodeo in the writing field, as far as.. Basically writing goes. Like I said I've been roleplaying for well over 5 years, aside from that I've written well around 35 biographies for my as of this post, 65+ characters. At least 12 of which are RWBY OCs. Should check out that site, it's pretty fun. But as far as fanfiction writing AND using this site, brand new. I'm no stranger to FF since I browsed it a good bit when I was younger and after RWBY hit Youtube via the first Red trailer way back in.. What, September 2012? Or no that was the Miraculous Ladybug PV, which I'm still waiting for, Zagtoon! It was November now that I went and checked. Anyway, I've been back into fanfiction for a good while but never really considered writing any of my own. I certainly have the imagination for it, and the obsession to fuel it. Seriously I got RWBY fever so bad I'd pop the thermometer. ..Not the electronic ones, the old ones with mercury in them. ..*suddenly imagines a glass thermometer full of tiny Mercury Black faces*_

 _ANYWAY. Again. *laughs* I recently started teasing the idea of submitting one and with a prompt from LegolasDragonRanger (she's got a few cool Pokemon works and has been my RP partner on RoB for well over a year now, heck I even brought her into Team FNDM) of family bonding, Roman and Neo, and going out for icecream, this little originally-planned-to-be-a-oneshot turned into Grapefruit and Icecream._

 _Which by the way I'mma take a sec in this A/N to explain. Icecream, well if you haven't guessed who that refers to then I worry for ya. ..I keed I keed. As for Grapefruit.. Think about it. It's orange on the outside (Like Roman's hair) with an acidic surface (dat attitude, srsly what'd a Faunus ever do to you Mr. Smooth Criminal?) but if you can peel that away you find a sweet interior. ..At least in my canon anyway. And what kind? A ruby (heh) red one. If I shipped them as a couple I'd so call it Grapefruit but I think it goes by Rosewick? For the purposes of this fanfic though it's a friendship name. Not to sound arrogant but I like mine better. Save the name merging style for Fairy Tail ship names. Oh, also a huge fan of FT and so is LDR (I'm slowly dragging her into all my fandoms, mwahaha). I plan on writing for that series too, actually have a lot of ideas and a collection of OCs I could use for it (two Dragon Slayers, a God Slayer, and a set of twin Devil Slayers/Etherious as well as two Exceeds) but I'm getting off topic. I like a few people love the idea of having Roman and Neo shipped in a more platonic/familial way, so of course I jumped at the idea of a prompt like that one. Didn't take like any convincing to make it the subject of my first fanfic._

 _Which brings me to my second point to make here. Sorry for the long-as-heck A/N guys (that's not the point fyi)! Just a bit more until the chapter! As I stated before this is my first foray into writing outside of RP purposes and first time on FF. I'm still getting used to it so bear with me until I adjust. Apologies if my way of organizing/formatting looks wierd. I've read a ton of fics in my day but this is just generally how I write. I also apologize for not putting an A/Ns in the first chapter! Completely slipped my freakin' mind. Also this story is finally gonna have a cover now that the waiting period is up._

 _Anyway, here's the second chapter of Grapefruit and Icecream! I want to give a big shoutout to everybody who has favorited, followed, or even just read the story, and especially to those that leave reviews whether it's to say you liked it and want MOAR and/or drop constructive criticism! Just because I've been RP'ing for years doesn't mean I'm not prone to mistakes or can't get better! Really you guys. It means a LOT to me to hear and see that people liked it. I can't tell you how much I smiled to see it had such a positive reception. Was almost biting my nails from nervousness and anxiety, both right as I uploaded it and right as I came back after work to see the results. Funny since I've been doing public roleplay for years so this really shouldn't have bothered me that much.. I dunno. But anyhoot. Enjoy! I'm gonna go check to see if the next chapter of Fairy Tail is out yet and maybe work on my latest RWBY OC. Think of a Highlander meets Guts from Berserk, or come say hi on ReignofBlood!_

* * *

Roman couldn't believe his luck at the current moment. Or rather his- Well.. The man could only describe it as grave misfortune. To think he had bumped into HER of all people and he was positive she was thinking the exact same thing in return. Where it had been missing at the previous moment part of his mind now wanted to go track down that onyx feline and punt it across the alleyway.

For you see the so-called 'cutie' sitting on Santa's lap was none other than Ruby Rose, one of the young Huntresses that for the last few months had been giving the crime lord and his cohorts so much trouble with just about everything they were doing. Dust raids being intercepted with their precious cargo returned safe and sound, White Fang attacks falling flat of their intended effect, Grimm releases being stopped in their tracks.. Thorns in his side indeed. Though if he wanted to be perfectly honest with himself and he was loathe to, she still was pretty cute. Though she also looked a little younger than he initially thought as well..

But that was less important and right now the cat soccer playing urge was rapidly squashed in favor of one to throw the girl off and bolt. But that would royally screw up the outgoing that he had planned for himself and his daughter, what to do what to do? Before the man could think on it too long the brunette would hold her notebook by the sides of their faces to block them from prying eyes and loudly whisper.

"What on Remnant are you doing here?!"

"Well I was thinking of having a nice T-bone steak with some chicken alfredo, if you don't mind taking my order. She'll have the-"

"Okay let me rephrase that, what are YOU doing here?"

"Can't a man and his daughter have a nice meal together?"

"Your dau- What?!" Ruby asked incredulously, her silver eyes widening before tilting her notebook to look over at the other girl across from them. The as of yet unnamed female beamed and gave a short wave to her before she turned back to Roman.

"..How in the world do you have a daughter?"

"Oh dear. Well Red I suppose if nobody else has yet.. You see when a man and a woman love eachother very much they-"

"Eww, no! Yang already had The Talk with me. I mean what kind of woman would want a kid with a jerk like you?" ..Ouch. That was cold. Not that he was terribly wounded by the cutting remark though he could slightly understand where she was coming from. He'd even admitted to the Faunus at that one rally where they unveiled the prototype Paladins they had secured that he was a pretty bad human being. Still.

"Low blow Red."

"Bite me."

"I'd rather be biting into a nice juicy piece of well done cow right about now. Are you going to take our order or..?"

"I'd rather go call the cops and have you locked up again so don't go anywhere alright"? The Huntress quickly started to move away and tried to get off the male but he reached up with his arm to grab the back of her uniform. "Whoa-hoa-hoa! Don't go doing anything too hasty now.. Let's sit down and talk about this shall we?"

"Give me a good reason why."

"Err.." Well, it appeared Roman was stuck on an answer for that. Really couldn't think of one to save his life. For once his sterling silver tongue failed him. He'd swear up and down this never happened to him before, and of all the times why now? Seeing no other alternative or way to lie out of it.. Despite going against every fiber in his being the idea of just being honest flashed in his mind and he took it like a picture. What else could he do? At this rate the Vale City PD were going to get involved and like Hell he wanted that. Not that he feared getting caught exactly. Not by those generally dumb and/or incompetent officers. With a reluctant heavy sigh he eased his grip on the girl's dress.

"..I rarely get to see my little girl between my work and her schooling and I just.. I wanted to make good use of the time we do have together. Away from our responsibilities. I organized this a while back so we could sit down and have a nice evening to do a little bonding, father and daughter. Actually have some quality time away from it all to talk about what we've been up to, which isn't as enjoyable when it's around 11 o'clock at night and I finally get off work to come home. She's either asleep or getting ready for bed and that kind of schedule doesn't have much room for more than a short 'how was work/school today?' and a goodnight. Mornings aren't much better since I'm usually gone by the time she gets up so I always just leave her a note or something. Since her mother isn't around I've been taking care of her alone and we rarely have the chance to do anything like this. Opportunity finally comes knocking and it's hounded by fate at the window, should've known this was a bad idea soon as I saw that cat but I'm not exactly a superstitious type to begin with."

His lips were curved in a bit of a frown as he spoke, glancing aside and sometimes over Ruby's shoulder at his freckle-faced daughter before continuing. It was actually pretty close to the truth if not the exact, even when she did accompany him to work the necessity to hide their relationship meant few chances or little time to act like said relationship existed. The man really did have a soft spot for her but something as benign as childish teasing wasn't the only reason for that. If Cinder ever found out.. For all she knew she was simply a henchman of his. However if word got to her of THIS.. Roman shuddered, fearing the possibility the pyromancer would use her as leverage to keep him in line. He'd bear with that woman's tyranny for the rest of his life if it meant keeping her safe but that's not something he planned on doing forever.

"But that's neither here nor there. I won't bother you with my life story, if you really want to run us out then I suppose we'll have to do this some other time then. Come on sweetheart, let's split before the bacon comes rolling."

The man shifted in his seat, attempting to give the waitress a boost off of him as his daughter frowned before reaching over in her own for a purse that apparently belonged to her. Looking between the two Torchwicks Ruby felt a pang of guilt and before she knew what she was doing had placed both hands on the older one's shoulders to stop him from moving.

"W-Wait! Don't. I.. ..You really mean all that?"

"Yes I do Red. I may be a lot of things, not all of them good, but being a father comes first and foremost. I'm not here to simply case this joint for its Lien like I could be. I guess it's your job as a Huntsman to catch criminals though isn't it?" He asked, the one visible eyebrow of his raised. Her response was not what he was expecting though, leaving him rather flabbergasted.

"..Weeeell if I see any, yeah. All I see though is a father and daughter trying to have a nice meal together though I guess, if anybody asks."

Her genuine smile as she answered caught him off guard and it took him several moments to register that, in the meantime giving her a blank and blink-y stare.

"Seriously?"

"Uh huh! I mean.. You're a jerk, and a thief-" Ouch again. "-and a thug, and a bully, and a-" Okay okay okay.

"Get to the point Red."

"I'm just saying. ..I don't feel like you're lying. Not this time. Somehow I think I can trust you just this once. I know what it's like growing up with a single dad who can't always be there, and a mom who.. Never was.. I won't do anything so relax."

The smile she gave him was almost a reflection of the girl's sitting across from him, one that could melt the ice around the coldest of hearts as they locked eyes. For a brief moment he could even feel one of his own creeping up, and not the usual snarky smug grin he always had but a more genuine one. Several moments went by like this until the two of them realized the rather compromising situation they were still in.

A 16 year old girl sitting sidelong on a much (likely twice at the least) older man's lap, hands on his collar, their faces barely more than a few inches apart due to the seriousness of the conversation they'd been having. She was as loathe to admit it in return but Roman wasn't exactly lacking charm.. Of course after said realization Ruby blushed and cleared her throat as he tapped both sets of fingers on the table nonchalantly.

"I uh.. Should probably do my job then and write up what you two want right?"

"Well I assume the food isn't going to simply walk up and drop itself on my plate now will it?" Smartass. "..Wait a minute. Aren't you a Huntress-in-training? What's this for? Trying to earn some extra money?"

"Oh! I um.. Y'see the thing is- Err, that's-"

"Rose! Your shift's up! Take a break, your replacement is already on the way over and- Oh, pardon me." An older woman came walking by, also dressed in a similar uniform though her skirt was longer and her black hair up in a bun. She raised a questioning eyebrow upon catching site of the two. The young Huntress' face lit up like a crimson Christmas tree as she stammered and tried to explain, her apparent superior simply chuckling and walking away while mumbling something about 'older men'.

"I-It's not like that! I don't even LIKE this guy!"

"Et tu, Rubus? I thought we were having a bonding moment of our own there."

"Stuff it, jerk!" She fumed, hiding her face with her notebook before pushing herself off and standing by their table. After smoothing out her uniform she exhaled. "Well, that's it for me I guess. Someone else''ll be coming to take your order then. Hope you two have a good night. ..I can totally see the family resemblance by the way. Cute."

Roman grinned, catching his daughter blushing out of the corner of his eye before focusing his gaze on the waitress. Honestly he'd been amazed at her sudden change of heart. While he was very good with words he really hadn't been trying to guilt trip her into letting them off easy. Yet that seemed to have been the case. Sometimes he was so good he impressed himself. Though, coming face to face with his 'enemy' he realized that off the clock she wasn't so bad and it seemed she felt the same if only for a moment.

..Probably because she wasn't trying to carve him a new cakehole with that _terrifying monster of a death sickle she tried to pass off as a Huntsman weapon_ or blow his limbs off with the **massive gun** in it. Hard to forget 'it's also a gun' when the Dust rounds were bigger than your fingers.

Against his better judgement, half because he could tell his daughter was a bit hopeful at the prospect and half some inexplicable reason he himself couldn't explain the man grumbled and reached out to grab Ruby's wrist right before she started to leave.

"Hey hang on kiddo. Why don't you join us for tonight? I'll buy."

"Eeeh?"

And thus the internal screaming continued.


	3. (Reluctantly) Know Thy Enemy

_Alright, third chapter of Grapefruit and Icecream. Got the ball rollin' and I gotta say how proud I am to have had such a good welcoming to FF, and I'm really happy to see how well received my first story has been. I don't know what I'll do next but I'm definitely gonna be writing more in the future whenever time allows it. Might start a short series (longer than this one) or do a couple oneshots. It's thanks to you guys since your comments and feedback, as well as a love of writing (and of course RWBY) are what inspire me to keep going! So without further ado chapter 3_!

* * *

He knew it was probably a bad idea, yet he did it anyway. That could probably summarize a lot of actions he took over the course of his life but something had compelled him. Though how likely it was that she'd accept was up in the air right now. The Huntress herself was even moreso confused. Her enemy, the dapper devil Roman Torchwick, was inviting her out to dinner? Several voices arguing in her mind kept telling her 'it's not like that' and 'he's planning something' or 'do it and see what happens!'.

"H-Hold on now, I agreed to not rat you out but that-"

"I'm not twisting your arm Red, you-" "Actually you kinda are." The man looked down and immediately released her wrist, quickly apologizing.

"You don't have to. I just figured that since we're both off the figurative clock in our respective duties we could maybe get to know eachother a little better. You may be a pesky thorny rose in my side but it's not like I've a reason to hate you on a personal level. I haven't exactly done good by you but really now, am I such a horrible character not worth an hour or two of your time?"

"..." *giggle* "Off work, dear. Off work." He said to the freckled female across from him with an eyeroll.

Ruby paused. The male had made a somewhat valid point. He'd chased her and her friends up and down the streets of Vale in a lumbering warmech, even shot her at one point with Melodic Cudgel, beat on both Sun and Blake.. Wait those were good reasons to hate him. Okay maybe hate is a strong word but she definitely disliked him. However, seeing a glimpse of the side nobody knew also had her curious. Maybe he wasn't really so horrible. Maybe he was just a jerk of a 'punch-clock villain'.

"..I.. Alright. I'll give it a chance. Don't expect us to be best buds or anything after this though." Looks like the 'do it and see what happens!' voice won out.

"Duly noted."

"And you're paying."

"I offered."

"And I'm not sitting next to you."

"Please don't. I don't need rumors starting."

Chuckling, he motioned for his daughter to scoot over as the brunette girl slid in beside her, turning to face her afters and offer her hand. "Oh, I don't think I ever even got your name. I'm Ruby!" "..." "..Umm-" "Oh right, I forgot to explain. She's mute."

Ruby rose an eyebrow, glancing over at Torchwick before wiggling her fingers and making a thoughtful expression. Afterwards she then started to sign something, awkwardly but correctly he noted.

"You can sign?"

"I want to help people, so it's a skill I decided to pick up. That's why I became a Huntress." She beamed, clearly proud at the choice she made. Though there was a deep and underlying reason that provided the majority of the inspiration to do so, the satisfaction and joy of protecting people was a good part of it as well.

"..Alright! Nice to meet you.. Nia? Pretty name." "..!"

Nia's cheeks tinged pink a bit, smiling back before tilting her head. It seemed someone was coming their way, likely another waitress to do Ruby's former job for the night. Roman was just happy he'd finally get to order and eat something because right now he felt like ordering the whole cow. ..And his chicken alfredo. Had to have that. Once again he'd picked up his menu and started to unfold it when he heard Ruby muttering something in a bit of a panicked voice.

"Something the matter Red?"

"Ohcrapohcrapohcrap. Hide!"

"What?"

"Yoohoo! Welcome to the Steakout! Best beef on the range, unless you want seafood in which case I know this reel-y good- YOU!"

Suddenly, over his new accompaniment's protests the man was lifted from his seat by the collar by a rather angry looking blonde. A very nicely shaped blonde with a slim and slightly muscular figure, dressed in the same uniform as Ruby though her skirt wasn't quite as short. The top of her dress however stuck out a bit more due to what it was trying to restrain but his eyes were anywhere but there at the moment. Rather he was focusing on her own, crimson and full of ire providing a contrast to what he'd swear up and done was long and literally _smoking_ golden blonde hair. Teeth were bared in a growl and after the shock wore off he realized..

The blonde berserker brawler from the battle in downtown Vale, the same one who punched his Paladin into pieces with a single furious blow. Quickly it became less strange how she was suspending him off the floor with one hand. She definitely lifted bro. Recognizing Yang Xiao Long, not that he knew her by name so he was just going to call her Yellow for now, he'd hold up both hands (slowly of course for sudden movements instigated predators like her) in surrender as Ruby tried to calm her down. Nia was shooting her sister a worried look, recognition barely visible on her face for a moment before it disappeared.

"What are YOU doing here?!"

"I'll have a nice ribeye steak, well done of course with a side of-"

"Not what I meant asshole!"

"Yang let him go! He's not here to cause trouble!"

"He's Roman Torchwick! Trouble follows _him!"_

*sigh* This might take awhile he figured. Might as well get comfy. While Yellow was distracted he'd reach into his pocket for his silver lighter and a cigar case before a pair of red eyes set back on him, their owner growling that they were in a no-smoking section. "Sheesh, can't a guy catch a break?"

"I have half a mind for you to go directly to jail. Whether you cooperate or not will decide if you do it conscious or not."

"Yang! Please put him down!"

"Why are you defending this guy Rubes? He's a notorious criminal!"

"Thank you, I try my best."

"Shut up!" Okay now was not the time to be making wisecracks. While he was confident he could take the two of them it'd be difficult and he really wouldn't have time to get away before the cops arrived. Plus his daughter would be at risk as well so Roman zipped his lips.

"He's just here to have dinner with his daughter! That's all! We talked before you showed up!" Upon hearing that Nia waved over at Yang as the blonde looked her direction. Then back to Roman. ..Then back to her again, doing a triple-take and becoming speechless in the process.

"I- Wha- How- You- You have a kid? Who'd you knock up 'cause I don't see how any woman would lower her standards to someone like you." Apparently a sharp tongue ran in the family.

"Oh it was a long time ago. I was just a lad with no fame, game, or history to the name, making my first robbery on a small time convenience store after hours. Bumped into a rather charming girl cleaning the back of the shop. Took a combination of my at the time bronze tongue and wit but I managed to convince her not to call the Vale City PD and have me thrown in jail-"

"A shame."

"-bite me Yellow. Long story short my criminal virginity wasn't the only one I lost and-"

"Okay I get the picture! The very disgusting picture!" Yang grumbled, shaking her head after sparing the Torchwicks one last look. Ruby's continued insistence to drop him and the fact that she might actually be wrecking an honest family outing forced her to loosen her grip and eventually let go at which point Roman fiddled with his scarf and suit to fix it.

"..You're lucky my sister was here or I'd have thrown you out by now."

"Yang I'll explain everything later but for now he's a customer, not an enemy."

"Right, fourth time's the charm? Could we finally perhaps get our orders?" Sitting back down in his seat as did the others, he placed both hands on the table and looked up at her expectantly with a smug smirk on his face. Those crimson eyes of hers bore into him one last time before after a few internal calming mantras and a breathing exercise or two Yang put on a forced smile, red fading to lilac as she positioned her pencil and paper.

"Okay then, what would you like to eat? Can I get you something to drink as well?"

"Yes, finally, hallelujah. Now I'm thinking about the- .." Dust DAMMIT he was hungry but he couldn't ignore the look Nia was giving the taller sister and with a groan Roman would look between both. Come to think of it he'd been interrupted last time when he asked anyway and the curiosity was getting the better of him as well now. Turning to Ruby he'd inquire again as to what she (well, they now) were doing at a restaurant like this working as waitresses when they had Huntsman training and missions for income. Extra for something extravagant they wanted, or maybe their father was teaching them some good work ethic he supposed. However a passing waiter's joking remark towards the blonde about paying off some damages suddenly piqued said curiosity more than before.

"..Damages?"

"Eheheh.." Yang rubbed the back of her head with a closed eyes grin, Ruby facetabling with her hands over her own head. She looked slightly red as well. "Funny story about that. Would take too long and I'm sure you're hungry."

"Oh terribly but I've got time to kill." And an appetite to feed but the looks on their faces made it seem like it'd be worth it. If only to see them squirm a little from embarrassment. Obviously reluctantly the current waitress started to explain.

"..Well, you know a Huntress about yea high? Ginger hair, body like mine, dresses in pink and white and swings a huge warhammer loaded with grenades?" ...Oh this was going to be _very good._

* * *

 _Yang Xiao Long and Nora Valkyrie. A combination like just entices collateral destruction doesn't it? Next chapter will be a short flashback before we dive back into the story! This is ending up longer than I thought it'd be but hope you guys and gals are enjoying! Also today (as of posting) is Sunday! That means new episode of RWBY, go watch it! Sorry for any mistakes or possible drop in quality but I wanted to get this out for you all before work today, since I'm gonna have a long day and night at it._

 _P.S. I know Ruby doesn't have to sign back, since Nia is mute not deaf, but she's doing it for her and to show that said mute-ness wouldn't be a problem for her. Also thought it'd be cute._

 _P.S.S. Fixed that italics coding being in there. Yeah it's a RoB habit and I somehow missed it during proofreading. As for forgetting to separate some dialogue bits, I felt it flowed/looked better in those places so I purposefully made it that way. And I thought FF was being screwy but I guess my way of separating A/Ns from the story (with about ten dashes -) doesn't work so I'll have to figure something out. Won't be able to post next chapter tonight or possibly tomorrow but I'll try to have it up soon as I can._

 _P.S.S.S. Fixed the separation, went back and did the others too. Thanks LDR!_


	4. Heavenly Dragon vs Thunder Goddess

_Aaaaaalrighty. Chapter numero quatro. A blast (knowing Yang and Nora, probably both literal and figurative) from the not too long ago past. What's the deal with those two sisters being stuck in a waitress gig? Something about damages. Nora seems to have been involved. She and 'damage' go hand in hand. Like her and Ren. Y'know, 'cause Renora! ..Except it isn't canon. YET. 'Boop' totally implies it's gonna be and speaking of which after the episode before last (as of writing, V3EP10 so EP9) with Cinder's speech and all, I swear 'Sacrifice' is from her POV towards Huntsmen, with the chorus towards the governments, the Academies, and the Headmasters. If her stated agenda is her actual one and not a cover for the hidden agenda IE serving some sort of evil Grimm master that is. I gotta wonder where the heck she got something like that freaky ass glove or where the White Fang are getting Grimm mind control technology. Which Kingdom is developing that crap that they stole it from? Don't tell me they just invented it 'cause then I gotta start wondering what kind of twisted scientists the villains have in their R &D departments._

 _Anyway enough conspiracy theorizing, onward to the story! ..Right after this brief message from our sponsor, Flashback Incorporated._

* * *

The location, same restaurant as the one Roman and co. are currently situated in. Only a few days prior to the events of this story. The scene? Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose, with everyone's favorite (depending on who you ask) contrast couple Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, at a table near the center of The Steakout. The former have more regular sized but still hearty meals given what they ordered though the brunette's isn't as big as the blonde's. The black haired lotus doesn't eat much however and has less than a full course while the energetic thunder goddess has an appetite for days and a metabolism for weeks, so the difference in their serving sizes could fit both of the other Huntsmens' in it and still have a gap.

"I tell ya Ren, thish plashe hash the besht pancakesh. We shoulda came here earlier-" "Nora."

With a clearly audible swallow the ginger-haired warhammer wielder turned to her partner with a smile. "Yeees?"

"Chew. Swallow. Talk. In that order."

"Got'cha!" She then turned back to Yang and Ruby. "So anyway, Cardin decided he was gonna be this billy badass and told the whole class he could beat them at anything. There was no like no way I'd let that slide so I walked right up, got in his face, and challenged him to mortal combat!"

"Did you break his legs?" Yang asked, eliciting a giggle from her sister before Nora sighed and shook her head forlornly.

"No but I so wanted to. At least he's been picking on Jaune a lot less after Forever Fall. Plus I think he's noticed how much stronger and better he's gotten since Pyrrha took him under her wing."

"I still can't believe he doesn't SEE IT." Ruby exclaimed incredulously which prompted an 'I know right?!' from Nora. "I swear he's so dense. She clearly likes him."

"I've tried nudging her to be more direct but I guess you can't force that kind of stuff." She missed the way the younger sister suddenly glanced between the second and fourth of Team JNPR while staring down at the table, and if her partner hadn't he made no signs of it. "But ooooh well."

"So what happened next?"

"Well the teacher was a total killjoy, said we couldn't fight in class so instead I settled for.. Arm-wrestling!"

"You won right?"

"Duh! It was practically over before it started!" The valkyrie proclaimed with a grin on her face, flexing one arm as Ruby giggled again. "And from then on he learned his lessons. Don't talk trash if you're not prepared to get cleaned up!"

"..That makes sense I guess?" Yang mumbled to herself, snickering and prodding the leftover bits of beef on her plate with her fork.

"You're leaving the part out where you fractured his arm in several places and sent him to the medical ward." Ren suddenly spoke up, staring at his sheepish partner who was trying to look away and twiddle her thumbs in an effort to play Nixon and neither confirm nor deny said allegation for a few moments.

"Okay maybe I underestimated my own strength a little. It happens!"

"You smashed said arm clear through the table, which you broke in half."

"And maybe I overestimated his, he talked tough so how's it my fault he's a liar?"

Both Yang and Ruby rolled their eyes and laughed. Either way the bully deserved it. He's done more to earn worse than a simple broken arm but one thing at a time. Everything was going smoothly with their little get-together today. Right until the latter had to open her big mouth once the current speaker closed hers..

"Well Cardin's one thing but I bet my big sis could take ya."

"Whoa whoa Ruby, don't-" "Uh huh. She's super strong alright but not as strong as me. And have you seen Yats' muscles?" "You tryin' to start somethin' pancake girl?" Way to go Ruby. Swell. Of course this was all still in good nature but it was also getting to be very heated as both of the muscular females started glaring daggers at one another.

"What? Don't tell me you think you can." "I'm don't. I _know_ I can." "Remember when I sent you to the moon with a watermelon on a stick?" "At least it wasn't a rolled up pancake. You would've eaten that before you could even swing it." "Ooooh you-! You. Me. MORTAL COMBAT!" Nora shouted, jumping up from the table and jamming a finger towards Yang with a fierce grin as she stood as well, eyes crimson now instead of lilac.

"Whoa hold on now, no fighting inside. In fact no fighting period. How about we settle this the old fashioned way?" The scythe wielder would ask, holding a hand out to each of them before bringing them back together with a clap.

"..." "..."

"Thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"Let's wrassle!"

Crisis somewhat averted? At the insistence of Ruby they sat back down, Ren quietly questioning her if this was a smart decision. They both knew too well how hyper and strong their teammates were. 'It'd be fine.' she said. Boy was she about to be proven wrong. Both of the girls clasped hands, elbows on the table with plates cleared out of the way while locking eyes. Muscle tensed, breathing slowed, and heartbeats raced.

"Ready.. And.. **Go!** "

The table creaked a bit as they started, gritting their teeth and narrowing their gazes as brawn met brawn in a silent but intense clash. Ruby was urging Yang on with a bit of cheering while Ren decided to simply whisper to his own partner that she could do it and that he had faith in her to win one for the team. That got her a little bit of a boost and it seemed that she was getting a slight edge before her opponent's Semblance started to kick in. Her body started to smoke a tiny bit, golden light coming off like a vapor as the tables were turned. Metaphorically for the actual table was now groaning under their combined might.

"Ngh! Not fair!" "Hey I didn't hear any rules set about no Semblances." The blonde remarked with a grit grin as her hand slowly started to push over Nora's. It looked as if she'd made a complete u-turn of events until the ginger-haired female called to her teammate.

"Ren! _That!"_

"Surely you can't be serious.."

"I am serious and who the heck is Shirley? Do you want me to lose? What am I gonna tell Jaune and Pyrrha?"

"Wait are we rivals?" "I'm so confused."

"Nora that'd be incredibly irresponsible." Ren lectured, or tried to considering he also wanted his partner to win just as much as the other.

"So would letting me lose!"

With a reluctant sigh the male reached into his pocket, withdrawing a stun gun and clicking it on. Several nearby patrons who had initially been watching the scene with various degrees of interest and/or amusement/disapproval suddenly looked a little alarmed. "I can't believe this.. I shouldn't be doing this." But frankly Yang WAS cheating a little. She had an unfair advantage with her Semblance and besides he was just evening the odds. Not like he had heard any rules about no outside help. It wasn't exactly proper justification but it'd work.

So his mind was set and with a short stabbing motion he stuck it right to his partner's back. The contact weapon started buzzing as the voltage transferred directly into her, activating her own Semblance and supercharging her muscle system instead of immobilizing her like it would a normal person. That energy would be the edge she needed to start turning the figurative tables back on Yang with her now increased power.

..Except in a case of either sheer stupidity or a complete blank of the mind both parties entirely failed to consciously realize three critical things.

1\. Nora was in direct contact with Yang, transferring part of the electrical discharge that her body couldn't absorb fast enough into the other Huntress. It wasn't enough to have any negative repercussions to her performance aside from a lot of pain however. It didn't help that the stun gun was modified for personal use with a much greater voltage to give Nora greater strength faster.

2\. Said pain only triggered a greater reaction from her own Semblance. Which rapidly lead to more surging of her own Aura and strength. Which in turn lead to the horrible Ouroboros that was number 3.

3\. 1+2=3. The more Ren kept the stun gun on Nora, the more power she got, which shocked and hurt Yang more and more, which raised the limit of the boost her Semblance was applying. And before he was able to withdraw the electrical weapon.. He could only watch in horror along with Ruby as their teammates' clash eventually hit an overload point.

*crack* *snap* *KABOOM*

The table gave way, splitting in half as it was no longer capable of bearing the two mighty empowered Huntress' forces any longer. Their practically fused hands went flying down through the wooden fragments and impacted the floor, creating a shockwave of lightning and fire so violent it made an outwardly expanding ground-based wave/ripple that shattered the oak flooring all the way to the walls toppling chairs and customers as well as tables, food, and other employees in the immediate area. Scenery and clothes were lit either by Yang's embers or Nora's arcs as well as patches and chippings of the floor setting off the fire alarm and bringing about the coup de grace of the most incredible (and last) arm wrestling match in the history of The Steakout.

Needless to say there was no winner in that match, only losers. And victims of being unfortunate innocent bystanders. Those losers also became victims of a banshee that night that went by the title of manager of The Steakout. Nora and Yang apologized profusely and repeatedly while Ruby just wanted to hide in a corner underneath a tablecloth, Ren simply being as polite as possible with his head down and his hands behind his back to keep her from having an aneurysm from sheer rage.

Aside from driving almost every single customer out of the building either aggravated at the display or fleeing for their lives, they had caused a great deal of damage to the architecture and furniture and harmed several of the staff. Thankfully they weren't severe injuries. Not to mention the wasted food. It had taken them a good while to subdue the blaze by which point the Vale City Fire and Police Department had arrived. The former being summoned thanks to several nearby calls witnessing the practical explosion inside, and the latter because others had mistaken that same explosion for a White Fang terrorist attack and alerted the authorities in a panic. Sprinklers, firehoses, and fire extinguishers brought an end to the blaze of destruction eventually, at the cost of turning the interior into a swampy foamy mess.

Needless to say their parents were NOT amused. Well Yang and Ruby's weren't. As Nora and Ren had none anymore it fell to Qrow Branwen, who had been called by Taiyang Xiao Long upon seeing live 'on the scene news' of the event, to go pick them up together before the manager boiled over and had the kids hauled off to jail for whatever they could use in the book to throw at them. It also of course fell upon them to chastise and give a stern talking to about their behavior. One also also, had to try and smooth things over with the ticking time bomb, and with one of them being a constant alcoholic with an attitude..

...

In a soaked, burnt, and CO2 covered area of the main dining area..

"Seriously? Over a damn arm wrestling match?!"

"Sorry Uncle Qrow. We-"

"Sorry doesn't change the fact that all four of ya could be facin' potential charges for this, if not heavy fines! Thousands o' Lien, quintuple digits even.. Even if you don't get a jail sentence your current 'jobs' as trainee Huntsmen won't be payin' that off anytime soon which means it's gonna be on OUR asses. Better appreciate all the begging Taiyang's probably doing to make sure that doesn't happen."

Those four were currently seated side by side in a row as the ballistic scythe wielding male paced back and forth, ignoring the squelching of powdery mulchy wet woodchips and expellant his shoes were making. With a piercing glare towards them he halted and spun on his heel to march closer, stopping just a foot or so away and slamming his hands on the table they were seated behind. One of the last intact of its kind.

"Just- Gods. Yang, I know you're a hothead and your Semblance doesn't help that but you've still got to be responsible for keeping yourself in check."

"Yes sir.."

"You two, I don't know too much about but Hell if I can't see some of his first daughter in this one." Qrow quipped as he glanced at Nora. "And as far as you go, you don't seem like you belong here. Too mild-mannered and calm. How'd you even get dragged into this?"

"I'm Nora's partner."

"I'll pour one out for ya later. So what's your excuse?"

"I can make no excuses sir."

"I see.. And you.." His red eyes shifted to Ruby who shrunk in her seat, gulping.

"You're supposed to be the leader. You know what a leader is, kid?"

"Err.. The person who commands a group of people-"

"Not exactly the answer I'm lookin' for but close enough to make the point." Qrow interrupted, retrieving his silver flask from his pocket to take a swallow of its contents. "You're supposed to be the one responsible for making sure your group doesn't misbehave or screw up. Responsible for ensuring the safety of the people you're supposed to protect. A responsible leader doesn't pull stunts like this and blow up a building, hurting several of those people in the process. You realize how much worse this could have been-"

"Don't blame it all on her, it was my fault! I agreed to the stupid match and I egged Nora on!" "I was the one who challenged her though and she only egged me on because of my stupid comments!" "I was the most irresponsible and enabled all of them. That situation would not have escalated if it weren't for my intervention." The three older Huntsmen argued, seeing how guilty the youngest was looking as if she were about to cry. Upon hearing their outbursts the man smirked a bit and lifted his hands from the table.

"Well.. At least you share the responsibility of owning up to your mistakes. I can't fault you for that. Still, you're all in deep trouble." The man screwed the cap back on his flask and stuck it inside his pocket, pointing out towards the street with his other arm. "This got on live TV and Ozpin ain't gonna be happy to see how his students are terrorizing Vale instead of upholding Beacon's name. If Taiyang can't save your bacon in there well-"

"Who said bacon?" A male voice called, stepping out from the doorway that lead to the kitchen. Taiyang Xiao Long, honorary third Double Dragon and father of both Ruby and Yang. He paused after almost stepping over into the mess of extinguisher element and water, trying to hop from piece to broken piece of furniture instead of the floor.

"Taiyang." "Floor is lava." "What- Never mind. What'd she say?"

Taiyang crossed his arms, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. The other five waited with bated breath before he spoke again.

"...She's not pressing charges."

They all let out sighs of relief as a huge weight seemed to have lifted off of their chests.

"But she's dropping a heavy fine on you guys."

And suddenly it came back down to crush them harder than before.

"This isn't like just a simple carpet stain. I'm talking burnt wiring, the floor is destroyed as you can see, not to mention all the food that got ruined, the angry customers that'll be sending in bills to pay for clothes and stuff like that.. Hospital bills for any of the staff that got injured, broken furniture.."

"How much?" Qrow asked, cutting him off before he could describe more. Which he honestly didn't want him to. A collection of fearful swallows came from the seated Huntsmen after a few silent moments in which the blonde fighter failed to answer.

"Taiyang.."

"Well over 1,500,000.*"

"Jesus.." "WHAT?!" "Are you kidding me?" "What the Hell?" "..." Qrow, Ruby, Yang, Nora, and Ren responded with the middle threes' eyes widened in shock. The first fell back onto a sideways chair and buried his face in his hands, slowly sliding them down to his chin.

"You know there's no way we can afford that right now. We'd have to bust our asses workin' jobs to get that much Lien."

"Well it's not actually that bad."

"The Hell it isn't!"

"She's not making us pay it off right this second. The restaurant's got money. But."

The male stopped, emphasising the B before smirking. Qrow raised an eyebrow before looking back at the young Huntsmen. It clicked with him the same time as it did with the only present male aside from the blonde. "No.."

"Yep. Congratulations kids. You're all officially in the employ of The Steakout. Part time anyway. Excepting weekends and holidays, be here right after classes. You'll make a minimum wage and the rest will go towards paying off your debt. With four paychecks and how much this place honestly pays you should only be stuck here for about half a year I guess."

Well it was better than going to jail or getting sued. They didn't look too happy at the prospect but decided to take their lumps, nodding to him and then sharing a look.

"Now I got the truck waiting outside. Everybody pile in and throw your shoes in the tail end."

As if they were lifeless zombies, the three females and single male got up before exiting the building. With a heavy sigh Taiyang then pinched his brow while Qrow came up beside him.

"That's a loooot of money Taiyang."

"I know.."

"You pulled it off though. I'm impressed. Thought she was gonna flay us alive when we got here. How'd you get her to settle?"

"I had to use a little Xiao Long magic and some Branwen charm I picked up from you."

"You old dog."

"Least I don't smell like one."

"I'm gonna get you for that later."

The two males laughed, walking out after the others. Yang immediately called shotgun though Qrow tried to call BS on it until she reminded him of the dibs protocol. Reluctantly but not entirely against it he was forced to sit between Ruby and Nora on the way back to Beacon. Roadtrip games were played, jokes were told, songs about bottles of beer on the wall were sung.

(back into the present day where not much has changed)

After a gigglefit from Nia Torchwick and a bout of unstifled laughter from Roman Torchwick, Yang had growled and tried to storm off before Ruby called to her about still having to take their order. Grumbling something about 'playing nice' she then withdrew her pen and paper again, clicking the former.

"Oh my Dust I just can't- So that was YOU two? Your friends included of course."

"Y-Yeah.."

"My my. Now it's no surprise to me how you managed to destroy my Paladin. This generation of Huntsmen are taking collateral damage courses it seems."

"..!"

"Hm, yes."

"Hey!

"Are you going to order or not?" The blonde brawler asked through grit teeth, her eyes once more flashing crimson. Finally he could have that ribeye and chicken alfredo. "Okay, a side of.. Right. Now for- ..."

"Something wrong sis?" Yang had stopped to stare at Nia for a few moments, quizzically tilting her head before shaking it.

"No. Just got a strange feeling is all. She reminds me of that chick from the subway train."

"Huh?"

"Ice cream lady. The one who kicked my ass. I swear when I find her again I'm gonna smack that smug look off her stupid face."

Nia squirmed in her seat, looking a little uncomfortable as she spoke. Luckily neither of them had noticed and with a sharp under-the-table tap of her father's shoe to her shin she stopped.

"..Though I guess it was kind of a cute face so I might just kick hers back. She had some nice legs too." "Y-Yang!" The brunette blushed, clearly embarrassed from the way she spoke. With a snicker she again asked Nia what she wanted. Which the mute girl tried to 'communicate' via her usual style. Not that the temp waitress would understand.

"..Well? I can't read minds. Speak up."

"Err, sis. She's umm.. She can't. She's mute."

"Oh. Okay. ...Oh gods I'm so sorry! When I said speak up I didn't-"

"It's fine, happens all the time. She's not going to cry about something like that." Roman handwaved her apologies, Nia nodding in agreement. "But she'll have the #3 on the dessert side."

"A sundae before dinn-"

"Don't ask."

Clearly Yang wanted to. Seriously who ate dessert before dinner? Except maybe Ruby with her fixation on cookies and strawberries. "..Okaaaaay. That'll be all?"

"Hey what about mine?" Ruby asked with a fake pout on her face, getting a confused look from her older sister. Who apparently forgot what she had said earlier.

"Huh?"

"Well, I told Torchwick I'd stay and chat."

"You're serious." The blonde gave her a look that practically screamed 'what are you thinking?!'.

"What harm could it do?"

"Rubes. ..Alright. But just so you know I'll be through here every five minutes. I see something I don't like, or don't see her, I'm coming for you. _Got it?"_ Another flash of optical red to make sure Roman understood.

"Loud and clear Yellow."

"Don't call me that. Use my name."

The orange haired crime boss began tapping his fingers on the table as Yang got Ruby's order and walked away, looking at her with a smile.

"So.. All I know is you're a Huntress, you have a scary blonde sister, and you wield a scythe-" "It's also a gun." "Right.. So. What's your story Red? We've learned a little about eachother so far but the night is young."

After making the same request to call her by her actual name, which honestly he had an easier time remembering the nicknames he gave people but it wouldn't be nice to do that and he was trying to smooth things over with her at least for the time being, Ruby would place both hands on the table and bite her upper lip.

"Well.."

* * *

 _Well indeed. What IS her story? We know the gist of it but maybe Roman and Ruby have a bit more in common than we think.. Not really headcanon coming up, just an interesting idea I had for the story. As much as I would love for Dad!Roman to be a thing and Neo be his daughter and there be all this cute fluff we don't see when they're on the clock.. I don't think it'll turn out like that in the show. ..Though if it does you won't hear me complaining._

 _Also the * note, which I'll be using any time I have a post-story A/N to explain something.. My idea which unlike most I've seen, is that Lien is a 10-1 ratio with U.S. money. And I say U.S. money instead of something else because I'm an American and the U.S.' primary currency is the dollar so it's what I'm used to/know and thus what I'm going for to show readers basically how much it'd be in our world. Inb4 America isn't the entire world, etc, it's common enough that it'll work for most. I'm not saying it's better or worse or anything. What it'd be in another currency like drakes, rupees, drachma, ryo, etc.. I'd have to find an online converter. Most fics I've read either don't go with any kind of ratio and leave it ambiguous, assume Lien is entirely colored chit/card based like sci-fi credits, or at a 100-1 ratio like Japanese Yen or a 1-1 ratio like the United States dollar. Obviously there's no America or Japan in Remnant but it's better than like I said before, leaving it ambiguous (which I don't think is too criminal) and easier than making your own conversion rate to give readers an idea of what stuff costs. I also think it comes in card/chit form (we've seen it in the show at least three times) but apparently it also comes in credit card form (the season 2 episode at the ramen shop, Weiss' card gets declined which is something that wouldn't happen if it was a prepaid or x amount value card/chit, except if the former was empty or didn't have enough but then he'd tell her it wouldn't cover the total bill instead of being outright rejected right?) so who's to say it doesn't come in bill/coin form either? Roman specifically states when expressing his disapproval of one of Junior's henchmen that they were 'worth every PENNY' so.._

 _Anyway, sorry for the delay/disappearance. Couldn't find wifi here. My job keeps me on the road and I don't have a plan or a hotspot for this tablet of mine yet. This chapter's a bit longer than the previous and I wanna try to keep them at least 2k minimum, not including A/Ns._

 _I might have this story complete by (and including) the weekend. Will have to see how long I want this to go and all. So far I'm thinking maybe within the next 3 chapters. A segment for Ruby, a segment for Roman/Nia, maybe I might just squish them into one..? And then a closing chapter. Anyhoot. Inspectre offline!_

 _P.S. Seems that failed. Somebody let me know how to separate A/Ns from the story aside from putting a lot of space between them please._

 _P.S.S. Never mind, got it now._


	5. Why?

_Alrighty, line break. Apparently that's what I was missing. I'll have to fix my other chapters sometime. Thanks to LegolasDragonRanger (sorry, spacing has been a force of habit) for that, and her reviews, and if you guys like Pokemon check out her stuff. She's a pretty good writer and I've known her for a long while now. I also wanna thank every single one of my readers, reviewers, and those who have followed/favorited my first story here. It seriously means a lot, 'cause I honestly didn't expect this story to get so much attention and reception, though I also didn't expect this to stretch out like it has so funny how that works to quote a famous and cynical Brit._

 _With the themes present in this chapter as well as the recent event that came by, many if not all of you will know the significance of February 1st, I'm dedicating this chapter to Monty Oum along with the other work I posted recently. My take and interpretation of the nickname FNDM. Not just for being the creator of RWBY and a few other works, but for just in general being a really awesome guy, a confirmed badass, and most importantly a greatly inspirational figure. Both his works and teachings will live on in us and both Team FNDM and RoosterTeeth are gonna make sure that they're never forgotten. That others get to see his vision grow and continue, whether it's passing along his words of wisdom or sharing the awesomeness he's left for us to follow._

 _With that in mind, here's the fifth and penultimate chapter of Grapefruit and Icecream!_

* * *

Roman tilted his head slightly, wondering why the girl had fallen silent. She looked a little lost, fingers splayed on the table and gaze directed between them. Maybe he should have started with a simpler and less broad question..

"Hmm.. How about this then. What made you decide to want to be a Huntress? Yes the Grimm are an ever present threat beyond these cozy little walls but it's not like we're in a time of war. You could have been a doctor or a teacher or something else instead of a pain in my rear." A little jesting to lighten the mood.

"Hey! What's wrong with that? You could have been a Huntsman too y'know. Then you wouldn't have to worry about those kinds of problems." Ruby snipped back with a soft glare that preceded a smile. Just as planned.

"Don't put words in my mouth now. I'm just curious."

"I want to help people."

"Huh?" Well it wasn't exactly unexpected but he was surprised at how quick the response was..

"Like the heroes from the fairy tales and books and stuff!" The girl stated, extending one index finger before curling up a fist and holding it up in the air above her with a grin. "The people who always did what was right, protecting the innocent, the weak.. Upholding justice and always sharing the ideals of peace, love, and kindness!"

"..I see. That's quite a vivid interpretation. So this brings me back to my original question. ..Why?"

"Eh?" Ruby paused, staring blankly ahead. Why did she want to help people? Wasn't it obvious? Seeing that she was lost in a confused train of though Nia would wave her hand in front of the other girl's face a few times before prodding her with a finger. After that she came back to her senses and restated her question before explaining.

"Well.. Not everybody can stand up for themselves? Some people need a little extra boost from time to time too, nobody can do everything on their own and Huntsmen and Huntresses are the kinds of people who can give it. They help people, protect them, guide them.. They don't fight Grimm all the time, there's other ways they can help out. Like, there's all sorts of stuff on the mission board back at Beacon."

"Yes yes I'm aware of how the request board works. My daughter DOES go there in case you forgot." "You never mentioned it." "Did I? ..Didn't I?" The man paused, holding his chin between his thumb and forefinger before shrugging.

"Well you're describing quite the heroic figures Ruby but what's the reason you want to be like them?"

"..."

"..Hellooo? Remnant to little red riding hood. ..Sweetheart could you poke her again?" Roman asked, pinching his brow before the brunette started and exclaimed she was fine.

"You were dazing off on me again there."

"Sorry! It's just.. You actually used my name for once."

"Well you did ask I do so from now on.." He stated as if it were rather obvious. Plus it hadn't even been five minutes since then. Maybe she had ADHD?

"Thanks. ..Orange."

"Oh you cheeky little monkey. Don't even start."

Ruby giggled along with the other Torchwick before the latter signed something back to her causing her to bust out laughing. He clearly wasn't amused judging by the expression on his face but decided to let it slide. After all, Nia looked happy to finally have a friend and her happiness was worth more than all the Lien and Dust in the world to him.

"Anyway! Moving on! I dislike having to bring this up but.. To grow up without a mother and with a father that couldn't be there all the time. Paraphrasing your words from earlier, am I recollecting somewhat correctly?

"Y-Yeah. A-And?" Her voice went from cheery to apprehensive, trembling a bit though she tried to keep a straight face. The freckled female beside her however suddenly donned a more wistful expression and would look away towards the window out at the darkened empty streets. Roman sighed and then leaned back, recollecting other thoughts before answering.

"I think there's something more to why you want to be a Huntress, Ruby. Does it have something to do with that?" The nervous swallow and onset of timidness as she pressed her forefingers together was the only confirmation he needed, or at least a good enough reason to believe that he was right. "I won't press if it's too sensitive an issue but trust me, you're not alone."

"What?"

His gaze slid over from her to his daughter along with a slight tilt of his head, causing silver eyes to widen as they turned towards Nia who was still staring out the window. She could feel their looks but made no sign of it.

"Ever since you said it it's been nagging at and me and I just realized.. We have a bit more in common than I thought, sad to say."

"You don't know-"

"Call it a hunch." He interrupted.

"..."

He gave her a bit of a solemn look followed by another sigh at which pointed the man reached out to put a gloved hand over her own and lock eyes. She jumped slightly but didn't bother to pull away and instead returned his look.

"So. What IS your story? How about we share? Of course you don't have to but kid, you don't often find someone who can relate with your troubles from personal experience."

Ruby tensed slightly once more, staring intently at the table before raising her head. Keeping his attention on the girl Roman listened quietly for her to begin. It was much to his surprise how right that hunch had been as the Huntress in training explained about how her mother had simply.. Never came back one day. How she had frequently traveled during her missions and how crushing it was to hear from her father and uncle Qrow the circumstances of her death at the hands of the Creatures of Grimm. Taiyang had already lost one wife, Yang's mother Raven, though her own situation was a bit different she had left them behind shortly after the older half-sister's birth.

Summer's permanent departure weighed heavily on all of them but particularly their father as he had pretty much.. 'Shut down' afterwards. It took him a long while to recover but being a single father meant he had to work often and couldn't be home as much as he wanted to, leaving Yang to be somewhat of a surrogate figure to Ruby. She tried her best, even if she slipped up along the way. The man was a little shocked to hear of the little adventure the blonde had taken them on in the search for Raven shortly after learning of her true mother.

"Three Beowolves in a single slice.. So that's the man you learned how to use that.. Thing. From. Now it all makes sense."

"Hey! she's not a thing! She's my baby and her name is Crescent Rose." Ruby huffed, puffing her cheeks. He couldn't help but crack a smile at that. That 'baby' was nothing short of an monstrous tool of execution in his eyes but he'd keep that to himself.

"Right. So.. Your mother and father used to read you all these fantastic tales and stories as a child I take it?"

"Yeah. Whenever they could. A glass of milk and some cookies, and a bedtime story. Full of heroes, epic tales, the battle between good and evil, all that sorta stuff. I always dreamed of being a hero like that one day.. The world can always use more people like that that'll fight for truth, justice, and peace." She stated with a smile on her face.

"And you still believe in those fairy tales.. Heh. ..Oh I'm not mocking you Ruby, I just think it's cute. But." Roman trailed off, squeezing her hand a little tighter. ..Which he forgot he was doing in the first place and promptly withdrew his before that blonde volcano came back around.

"Maybe you also want to become a Huntress so that.. No other little girls have to be sat down and explained to how their mother isn't coming back. Death isn't easy to explain to a child and it's heartbreaking to try and do so."

"Err, see- Wait, don't tell me-"

"About ten years ago." He continued abruptly, tapping his gloved fingers on the table and looking aside. "I told you about how I met that cute girl in the back of the shop I first robbed."

"Sounds like something out of one of Blake's books." The Huntress muttered with an eyeroll.

"Who-? Never mind. Afterwards.. For me it had just been a quick way to get out of trouble. A little charm, turn her to putty in my hands, thought I'd be away scot-free. Of course I bumped into her a few weeks later and found out she was with child and I suddenly found myself.." He paused.

"Having a heart?"

"Something like that."

"And staring down the barrel of a shotgun?"

"What kind of books ARE you reading these days?" The man asked incredulously, only getting a shrug in response. Well then..

"Anyway, I had a real change of heart. Not that I stopped doing what I was doing mind you but I also found myself seeing things in a new light. I stuck by her side, we got married, got a nice home with money I'd saved up.. Never really thought of being a parent before but then again not many hormonal teenagers do so you know. Well actually I'd hope not."

"No way! Eww, boys." Ruby exclaimed, giggling and looking over at Nia who was still blankly gazing away from the duo. She'd been tempted to get her attention but out the corner of her eye she could see Roman shaking his head before he continued.

"Things were swell. I had it made. I was raking in the Lien, starting my own little group of ne-er-do-wells. All in secret of course. I had no plans to get her or my little girl involved. This went on for a good while after she was born. Never told either of them the truth and just wrote off my late hours from working as much as I could to support them."

"So, you lied to them. You hid this from your own family." Ouch. Roman may have had his reasons and justifications but the truth still stung.

"I did. And it cost me greatly one night. Tragic irony that while I was out casing a new place to hit later on my house was robbed. I suppose it served me right.." His voice fell a bit in volume and tone, Ruby's expression softening a bit as well before her silver eyes widened in shock.

"No.."

"I got a call from an associate of mine. Said he saw a vehicle parked in my garage and a few people outside. Didn't call the cops because they just walked right in. Thought it was still strange. I immediately dropped what I was doing and raced back home, only to find.. My wife, dead. Killed by those bastards to keep her from ruining their plan. She wasn't a Huntress and didn't have an unlocked Aura so there was nothing she could do to stop them."

The crime boss stopped, intertwining his fingers on the table. Clasping both hands over her mouth Ruby let out a soft gasp, not noticing that Nia's cheeks were now wet with streaming silent tears. Once he was ready the man went on to explain that while she might not have been one, his daughter had already started taking pre-enrollment classes for Signal and unlocked her own Aura. Not that she was by any means a world class fighter at the time but it was a bloody, and he meant that literally, miracle that she survived. Come down the stairs for a glass of water to find the strange people rummaging through her house as well as her mother's body in the kitchen. Completely unguarded, they quickly fell to a violent and psychopathic rampage after Nia had grabbed an icepick from the counter. Following that the neighbors heard screams and gunfire that woke the entire neighborhood. The Vale City PD was called and by the time Roman got home it was to blood-spattered walls and floors, his daughter curled up in a corner covered in crimson while clutching the deceptively deadly weapon in her hands.

"She was maybe.. 8 or 9 at the time. But she was skilled. Learned from the best. Those men weren't Aura users either or I might have lost both of them.. It wasn't easy but we both coped with our loss and moved on. I gave up the criminal life for a time and she enrolled first into Signal, then to Beacon once she graduated. I wanted her to live a good life, become a Huntress and maybe have a family of her own one day."

"..So what happened? You're back to robbing Dust shops now and-"

"She found out. Gods that was a rough time. Wouldn't believe the fallout from that little accident. Lots of things were thrown, didn't speak to me for days. Come to find out it was more because I hid it from her than what I was actually doing."

Ruby tilted her head a little bit, giving the man across from her a skeptical look and received a perked eyebrow in return.

"What?"

"So you're still a famous criminal-" "You flatter me." "-but she's going to become a Huntress?"

"Much like you do Ruby. To be a hero so nobody else has to suffer like this whether it be because of the Grimm or some common thugs." So it seemed he'd been right. Sadly but the two girls had a painfully shared bond. Ruby almost jumped after feeling a hand on her knee, Nia's surprisingly. The orange-haired female had dried her eyes and turned to give the other a gentle smile and at that moment she felt some kind of spark between them. It was returned, turning back to Roman after he called to them.

"I don't get it though, Torchwick. If you want to get away from that life, why-?"

"I was made an offer I couldn't refuse some time ago. For multiple reasons." He spoke of Cinder, and whatever mad plans she was developing. His job was to steal as much as possible, both for payment of the White Fang's 'services' and for arming their growing movement. Not that he actually spoke to clarify exactly that. "And unfortunately I've had to drag her into the family business as well. In disguise, to keep up in appearances."

"Appearances?"

"Let's just say I doubt my employer would be above using my daughter as leverage to keep me in line if they knew of her existence." Roman scowled, clenching his fists on the table.

"That's horrible!"

"That's the underworld of crime for you." He said with a sigh.

"So- Wait. Hold up.. ...Is she- Neo?!" Aw Hell. Both Roman and Nia started, trying to explain before Ruby cut them off to state that she was just surprised. Not that it was really going to change anything at this point. "I can't believe I didn't notice it before.. The shortness, the ice cream for dinner, not talking.. Wow. Oh my sister is gonna flip-" "I really don't suggest saying anything." He snapped.

Ruby was shocked, still. Not just from that little revelation but from the fact that the man had been right. They really did have a bit more in common than she had initially thought. She and Nia especially. Musing on that for several moments she didn't notice her sister finally show back up with their food. Dropping it on the table a bit abruptly, except for Ruby's and Nia's, she gave the remaining patron a glare before slapping the check on the table and walking off.

"Sheesh, forget the wrong side of the bed.."

"That's Yang for ya sometimes. Plus you're still kinda our enemy."

"This is true, well then. Let's eat shall we? I've been waiting long enough." Roman said with a smirk, twirling a fork in his hand.

And so they did. All in all it was a rather enjoyable night for the three individuals. Aside from their shared pasts, they spoke of things like Huntsman life, the dangers of fighting the Grimm, old cop chase stories which while Ruby wasn't exactly happy to hear about she did find them a bit exciting. There had been a small scuffle over the man's Scroll after he snapped a picture of his daughter spoonfeeding Ruby a bit of her icecream, cackling all the while playing keep-away.

* * *

 _Jebus.. That took longer than I planned, sorry guys! Between work and a Monster Hunter binge I was busy. ..Then I watched the recent RWBY episode (V3, E11).. I won't spoil it here but MY FEEEEEEELS. I almost overloaded at one point. Didn't want to write at all Sunday.. Anyway, this is NOT the final chapter but we have one more for a closer and then my first fanfic will be complete! Technically. I'll be adding another chapter after that one not as an epilogue but as a preview for my next work. Think it might be shorter than this one, I don't know yet. The themes'll be White Rose and Weiss finally performing a full summon! Which was in my mind actually before the latest episode but after seeing THAT I definitely want to write this one. After that one, I might actually start up my first long term project, a mecha (well mini-mecha too) sci-fi AU that right now is going by Steel Heart, Iron Thorns or the ScrapWorld AU. Either that or another miniseries/couple oneshots._


	6. Payment-In-Kind(ness)

_Alright, this is it folks. The last (technically) chapter of Grapefruit and Icecream! I've had a lot of fun writing this so I wanna give one final shoutout to everyone who has reviewed, read, favorited, and followed my first story! I hope one day I can look back and see this as one of many, many stories I've written 'cause I don't plan on stopping. Long as you guys and gals keep reading and liking my work! Seriously looking at the numbers.. Maybe you all just like dad!Roman and daughter!Neo or maybe I got lucky? Either way I really appreciate it. I'm sure the finale of Volume 3 will kickstart a lot of drives to write in other writers too 'cause I think I got RWBY fever from the fumes the hype train is giving off. Oh wait I pretty much always had that. Speaking of which, this means the story will be done so I want my Mercury thermometer back LDR. Don't make me sic my OCs on you. *laughs*_

* * *

It was late, that much was certain. The streets were practically empty and the restaurant too almost save for the few individuals at the back and the waitress still on duty. Who while not entirely happy her little (half)sister was being so buddy-buddy with a criminal like Torchwick he was behaving himself, and Ruby seemed happy so who was she to interfere? It was almost an hour later, nearing midnight actually that the plates were cleared and the check paid (by Roman of course) when it was getting to be that point.

"Well, Ruby. It certainly has been an eventful evening and suffice it to say I can actually be sincere this time when I say they've been enjoyable ones. ..Except when I got held up by your fire dragon of a sister."

"Or when you met Blake's cousin." Ruby snickered, referencing the also not so enjoyable event prior to his arrival where he was accosted by a black feline. The aforementioned Faunus would probably box her ears if she heard her teammate joke about such a thing..

"Yes.. The little black kitty. Blake is the cat girl on your team if I remember right. Had me locked up in jail."

"She was just doing her job y'know." The Huntress stuck her tongue out playfully.

"Right.. Yes."

"..."

Ruby raised an eyebrow as Nia signed something to her, turning back to Roman with a quizzical stare before asking if he truly had some kind of grudge against the Faunus seeing how he reacted. To which surprisingly the male would answer that he didn't. They were just easy to rile up and he was a jerk of a human being at the core. Plus and he kept this part to himself, Cinder practically forcing him to play nice with the White Fang didn't help matters any so maybe half of it was just to vent.

"Well you're not that terrible of a person Torchwick. You just do bad things for the wrong people."

"I'll give you that last one, anyone could do with a bit of extra Lien in their pocket eh?"

..Blank disapproving stare and crossed arms he met.

"Spoilsport. I can't exactly say what I'm doing or why, but I'm hoping to be out of it soon enough. Get back on with my life- Our lives." The man said, smiling softly at Nia before reaching for his cane and bowler hat. "Heck, I could retire if I wanted to right now and not have to pinch a penny, and STILL support both of us. Think I want to work?"

"You could still become a Huntsmaaan~" Maybe?

"No."

"Crud." Rejected.

"But I can't say anything bad about it. My daughter wants to be one and I won't stand in the way of her dream. I'd like to be the one supporting her but I've got this one last job to do. So until then well I suppose we'll meet again. Perhaps as enemies, or maybe just as acquaintances. I'm not asking for a pardon but you're actually not that bad, kid. Even if you're a thorn in my side."

"You can still fix that you know."

"You are just determined aren't you Red?"

"Gotta do my job, Orange."

From where he was standing now, beside the table with his cane in hand and the bowler back atop his swept hair he'd smirk before breaking out in a fit of chuckles as did the brunette Huntress in training. Tonight two enemies had come together under a white flag to learn more about eachother and to bond, if only a little. Maybe some day they could put their positions aside, maybe in a different time they could even have been friends or even allies, but for right now the future was unwritten.

"Well, I'll be seeing you then Ruby. Do stay in school, and go to bed at a reasonable hour."

"So I can't catch you sneaking out to rob another Dust shop?"

"Cheeky. Perhaps."

"..."

"..."

"Girls, I'm joking, joking! Don't you start Nia, you know good and well the position we're in."

The diminutive girl shook her head with a soft sigh as Roman began to walk towards the exit, looking back over to Ruby as she took her hand in hers.

"..."

"I ca-.. Wait. I think I understood you this time. You wanna meet up at Beacon tomorrow?"

"..!"

"Of course! I really wanna introduce you to my teammates too!"

"..?"

"I'll keep your secret safe, promise." The other girl reassured, squeezing her hand. Another friend made, success! Yang always had been on her case to 'break out of her shell' and make some friends. Aside from the brawler herself. It wasn't her fault she got nervous meeting new people, or being in front of crowds..

"Well then, I guess I'll see you at class! I think. You're good with disguises aren't you?" Nia/Neo only blinked at her, giving her that smug trademark grin before nodding. The Huntress then started to leave as well so she could change out of her uniform and go home with Yang. However the other girl stopped her by grabbing her wrist and pulling her back, in for a quick kiss on the cheek before giggling a bit and skipping for the door. Ruby was left to stand there, blinking and blushing pink as a certain blonde slipped out of a booth she'd been relaxing in to play games on her Scroll.

"D'aww that was sho kyooot."

"You-"

"C'mon, we've gotta go. Dad's on the way to pick us up." Yang said, not before putting her sister in a headlock and giving her a quick noogie over the attempted protest.

"Yeah, I'm ready to go home too. I hate wearing heels. Seriously how can anyone FIGHT in these? Walking's hard enough as it is!" She exclaimed with a huff, looking down at her current footwear with disdain.

"Hey don't ask me. You really need more practice though Rubes, otherwise you'll end up like an ice cream banana."

"..Do what now?" Oh no.

"Y'know, after it _splits."_

"Yaaaang!" ..Dust dammit Yang.

* * *

Roman was outside, a lit but almost finished cigar in hand and leaning against the edge of the doorway as Nia bounded outside with a bright smile on her face. After seeing that he sported a softer one of his own after letting out a large puff of smoke.

"..!"

"I saw. And here I thought I was the only one who could do that. You two are going to get along pretty nicely."

"..!" The crime lord could only smirk over the rapid display of charades she was making, clearly happy to finally have a real friend and not just another face she knew from behind her Semblance. Truly he was happy for her and crushing the cigar against the wall to put it out he'd flick the object away into a gutter before moving to go back inside.

"?"

"Something I want to take care of. I have a few words to give the manager about our service tonight."

"..?"

"I'd let it slide any other day but I'd like to take care of this before we leave. Give me a few minutes sweetheart. I'll be right back." With that the man calmly strolled back inside, spinning his cane to leave a slightly confused Nia standing in the doorway. Nearby, a pair of yellow feline eyes glinted with what one could swear to be amusement from the shadows of the closest alleyway.

* * *

"Oh my gods, finally!" Ruby exclaimed, kicking off her heels to slide on her fishnet stockings, socks, and knee-high boots. The last pieces of her work uniform were off and now she could be back in her more comfortable wear. Yang on the other hand had already finished changing, now back in her shorts, boots, and jacket/tank. The two females were currently wrapping up the punchout and relaxing for a moment in the employee lounge, waiting for Taiyang to show up so they could go home.

"You really don't like high heels do you Ruby?"

"Noooo they're so awkward!"

"You sound like monkey boy about the 'stupid neck trap'." Yang said, lowering the pitch of her voice a bit to try and mimic Sun Wukong. That got a giggle from the other girl before she sighed and laid back on the couch she was currently sitting on, drumming her fingers on the arm. Eventually another waitress, the one from before who had come across Ruby in her compromising position on Torchwick's lap, came to let them know that their father was outside in the truck and waiting for them.

"Sweet, I'm ready. Been a Xiao Long night." Cue another 'Yaaaaang!'.

"Sis, help me up?" The younger one held her arm out towards Yang, stretching then flailing it a little. With a roll of her eyes Yang grabbed her by the wrist, twisted, and yanked her up and over onto her shoulders piggyback style. Both of them laughed as they exited the room and waved goodbye to their coworkers for the night. Despite the circumstances of their 'employment' they had managed to get along well enough with most of the employees, even the ones they had injured in their crazy shenanigans. At least the ones that technically Yang and Nora had though Ruby and Ren were still responsible. However after a bout of apologies and actually getting to interact with the staff it had all become water under the bridge as they settled into their new if temporary jobs.

"I'm so tired, and my feet hurt.. I wanna go right to beeeed."

"What about your milk and cookies?"

"Oh right I gotta have those first." Ruby stated with a determined look on her face, ducking soon as her 'mount' reached the door. Some questioned who had the bigger addiction, Nora with her pancakes and syrup or Ruby with her cookies and strawberries. Hard to say really though nobody really wanted to find out either. As the brawler left the establishment and tossed her into the backseat of the truck like a sack of potatoes she'd jump into the side next to her father.

"Ready kiddos?" The man asked with a smirk.

"Been ready. 50 Lien says Ruby falls asleep on the way."

"Hey!"

"Deal."

'HEY." The admittedly tired Huntress blurted out, watching the two blondes shake hands. The man went to go start the engine but he was suddenly distracted by a different but still familiar waitress tapping on his window. Rolling it down he raised an eyebrow.

"Oh! Ms. Mary! Sorry I was late today! I had an important test and I really couldn't miss it so I ended up staying a bit longer than usual but I'll make up for it tomorrow and-"

"Oh hush, it's alright. The boss isn't upset with you, in fact she's rather pleased." The woman said, reassuring the panicked Huntress in the back after she shot up to try and explain herself. Taiyang simply then turned that still raised eyebrow to Ruby before shaking his head with a chuckle.

"Well as long as they're behaving and doing good I don't think she can complain. I'll make sure they're both on time tomorrow though." He assured.

"Oh don't worry about that either. They're free to go."

"Do what now." All three said simultaneously, looking between eachother with confused and then incredulous looks. Free? Was it possible the manager decided they'd learned their lesson and forgone the payment? Or was she simply being kind?

"F-Free to go? We haven't worked off the debt yet have we? Did she win the lottery or something?" Yang finally asked, breaking the silence. Mary simply laughed and told her no, though actually it was something like that if one thought about it.

"Sort of. Some smooth talkin' stranger came in to her office 'bout a half hour ago to speak with her." Wait a minute..

"Was he dressed fancy? Wore a bowler and had a cane?" Ruby asked, leaning through the driver and passenger seats. She was hoping it wasn't what she thought. Torchwick was a criminal still, maybe he threatened her or said he'd burn down her restaurant. Or maybe he went to complain about Yang's behavior and get them fired..

"Matter of fact he was, had that and some black eyeliner on. Kinda odd in my opinion."

"What did they talk about..?" Ruby asked again, a little worried now.

"I didn't hear the whole conversation, I was more focused on counting tonight's income after we cleaned out the registers.. Kinda shocked me though. Came in talking about you two, spoke with her about your employment.. Then he paid the whole remaining lot of the debt off! Up front! Every last Lien! I don't know what kind of people you know honey but I wish I had a man like that.. Anyway, I have to go. Finish tidying up the front and all. You ladies take care now and don't go causin' any more trouble. You too handsome."

Mary turned and walked back towards The Steakout, leaving two very perplexed and confounded Huntresses as well as a smirking Huntsman before the latter chuckled. Something about 'still having it' as he turned the key and started the truck, shifting the gears and pulling away from the restaurant. While Yang sat back in her seat at a complete loss for words, Ruby looked out the back window at the receding building with a smile.

* * *

 _WHEW, well that's a wrap people! Man.. I can't believe it.. Grapefruit and Icecream is finally done. This was waaaay past the intended oneshot but I think it's turned into something awesome. I really hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I definitely plan on writing more after seeing how well this little piece has been received. Seriously, thanks guys._

 _There'll be one more chapter after this so I won't mark it complete just yet. Gonna write up a preview of my next oneshot (haha it'll probably grow into at least a two-parter after I start writing). White Rose, and the theme will be of Weiss completing her first full summon as well as a lil' bit of reflection and introspective thinking. The exact circumstances though, gotta wait and see. I'm not 100% certain if it'll be romance or friendship but I'll figure it out. So look forward to the next chapter and my next work!_

 _And by the way, yes I do ship White Rose but I'm not an exclusive shipper. I respect other peoples' ships and I even plan on writing a few of them. After all why limit myself with what I can write? I have a Freezerburn oneshot on the list of ideas and my first planned AU will be Monochrome, even though I'm a Bumblebee fan myself. Anyhoot, Inspectre Out! And Volume 3 finale SUNDAAAAY (as of writing this)._

 _THIS._

 _IS._

 _HAPPENING._

 **GET HYPED.**

 _*pumps fists, grinning like Nora Valkyrie*_


	7. Next Fic Preview

_Alright, Inspectre online and here we go. Short teaser for my next probably two parter. Somehow despite my efforts, I end up writing more than I plan to. I had The Only Thing I Know For Real (Metal Gear Rising) on repeat while doing this bit itself and music is always a muse kickstarter for me sooo. Yeah._

 _Also, guys and gals. I don't plan on making a habit of doing this but I am asking for reviews on this story. ..The Grapefruit and Icecream one, not this next piece, though if you wanna review that too that'd be cool. Only because it's my first work and I wanna make sure I'm doing a good job, and/or didn't leave any mistakes in my writing after proofreading. And to hear if people actually did like it. Anyway without further ado.. The Inspectre presents..! The Royal Test. It takes place after the finale of Volume 3, assuming everything hasn't been swallowed by darkness, Cinder hasn't set the world on fire, the Grimm haven't ran unchecked, and Dr. Eggman hasn't teleported the ARK in to blow up the rest of the moon 'cause y'know, apparently he does stuff like that._

 _P.S. Chapter 3 of the RWBY manga just revealed something EXTREMELY interesting to me. 'Possession-Type Grimm' eh?_

* * *

Step. Thrust. Draw back. Retake stance. Step. Thrust. This time swipe then draw back. Retake stance.

Sweat dripped from the heiress' forehead as she repeated the process, standing alone in the currently empty dormitory room dressed in a pair of white shorts and a white tank top. Her hair was currently undone with a hairband holding it away from her eyes and Myrtenaster was polished and fully loaded for what its wielder felt may be their final battle. After all her opponent had already proven itself not only stronger and faster than her but.. Her partner as well. Stopping to catch her breath the girl sat down on her bed placing the Multi Action Dust Rapier beside her as she buried her face in her hands.

She had been confident they could handle it. Confident that the strange Creature of Grimm was simply a different brand of the same fodder that dwelled within the perimeter of the endless Forever Fall. That overconfidence had gotten her almost killed, not once but twice and put her leader into critical condition in Beacon's medical ward. To say that Weiss had freaked out once she regained consciousness would be an understatement upon finding out she was the only one to do so. Ruby's injuries had been so extensive she'd been afflicted with an uncommon condition called Grimmblight, a dangerous affliction that severely hampered the flow and generation of Aura. In almost every case it was fatal as the infection would persist until death so long as the Grimm that inflicted it were still alive.

It was only due to the intervention of another Team that had an objective in the forest as well that day that the two Huntresses escaped with their lives, and once she had recovered enough to be discharged the heiress had immediately set out to take the creature's head. She'd underestimated it once before and she assumed that was her downfall. Her hubris. Her supposed.. Perfection. As a teammate she knew she was still lacking but as a Huntress, well that was gone now.. The scar over her left eye originally had been a reminder of when she was still inexperienced and she thought she had surpassed that. Weiss remembered vividly the fighting and the shouting matches from soreness over the election of RWBY's leader, and then the feeling of betrayal after the discovery of Blake not only being a Faunus but also a (former) member of the White Fang.

From those days on she'd learned and vowed to be a better person and try to be less 'cold' towards her new friends and comrades. With people like them (and she admitted this with great reluctance, including Jaune) around the ice princess really did start to become more of a.. Okay snow 'angel' was a bit of a stretch but honest efforts were being made.

And now that effort was being questioned, her own value as well as she'd let her pride as a Schnee and confidence in her upbringing endanger her leader's life. How could a flawless person such as herself make such a grievous and amateurish error? When the Huntress had finally confronted the Grimm once more, victory was believed to be assured.

Needless to say it had ended in complete and utter disaster. The Mantis was an enemy that outclassed her in every aspect. Speed, cunning, strength.. The fight from before looked like an awkward dance compared to the furious battle that had taken place then, with Weiss hardly managing to injure the Creature of Grimm. It wasn't so much that she was unskilled that she had allowed herself to lose composure, attacking in a straightforward and predictable manner with both Rapier and Glyphs. Fighting with all her brawn but none of her brain.

But things would be different this time so she hoped for secretly Weiss had been training her Semblance first and foremost. Just as vividly, the image of the spectral arm and longsword that had extended from her Glyph when she went to save Velvet Scarletina had formed in her mind. Despite her best efforts however she couldn't reproduce it again, no matter how hard or how much she pushed herself. So be it. There was no more time to spare as Ruby's condition worsened. Perhaps the ice princess was walking to her death but she couldn't face Ruby or her teammates anymore. Each and every time she saw the former she was panged by guilt. The word failure echoed over and over in her mind. As for the latter she felt like she let them down. It was not just her job to look out for Ruby, but.. Something else. There was another reason Weiss couldn't comprehend that she wanted so desperately to protect the Huntress, and to save her from what she might as well have brought on herself.

There would be no disaster this time. It was all or nothing. Nobody would come to save her this time either. The Mantis had retreated a bit further into the wood and Weiss had no intention of telling anyone what she was doing or where she was going. As if they knew in the first place. Even professional Hunters had been unable to track the monster, but she had a way. If she couldn't kill this single Grimm then she wasn't fit to be a Huntress, and she wasn't fit to be _her_ partner.

Quickly changing out of her old training clothes and into the specially made SnowPea outfit, Weiss Schnee grabbed Myrtenaster for one final inspection. Dust vials and crystals were packed, a few supplies, her Scroll not that she'd probably need it, and with one last look back the window was opened. After a deep breath to take in the cold chill of the night's air, the heiress would fall. A black Glyph appeared moments after just above the pavement to catch and slow the female, releasing her safely onto the Academy grounds.

"I promise Ruby.. I'll save you.."


End file.
